Two dead after plane crashes in Malaysian Borneo

But a woman and her 11-year old son who were in the living room of the house escaped unhurt when the aircraft hit the bedroom, dining hall and porch, the New Straits Times reported.

Malaysia Airlines said the Twin Otter propeller plane, which had taken off from the state capital Kota Kinabalu, landed short of the runway in Kudat about 150 kilometres (90 miles) to the northeast. "Regrettably there have been two fatalities," its chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement late today.

Newspapers reported that both the 23-year-old co-pilot and a 69-year-old passenger succumbed to injuries after being taken to hospital. Another two of the four injured were reportedly in critical condition. All 16 on board the plane were taken to hospital for checkups. Jauhari said the 56-year-old flight captain, Wan Mohd Abd Amir Wan Yahya, had over 4,700 total flying hours.

The airline said the cause of the incident was under investigation by authorities and the plane was in good condition according to maintenance records. Sabah is on the northeastern tip of Borneo, an island which has seen repeated aircraft crashes. A helicopter crash in July last year saw three passengers die while a Singaporean trainee pilot was killed in a plane crash a week later.